A quantum liquid of magnetic octupoles on the pyrochlore lattice

Spin liquids are highly correlated yet disordered states formed by the entanglement of magnetic dipoles(1). Theories define such states using gauge fields and deconfined quasiparticle excitations that emerge from a local constraint governing the ground state of a frustrated magnet. For example, the ‘2-in-2-out’ ice rule for dipole moments on a tetrahedron can lead to a quantum spin ice(2–4) in rare-earth pyrochlores. However, f-electron ions often carry multipole degrees of freedom of higher rank than dipoles, leading to intriguing behaviours and ‘hidden’ orders(5–6). Here we show that the correlated ground state of a Ce(3+)-based pyrochlore, Ce(2)Sn(2)O(7), is a quantum liquid of magnetic octupoles. Our neutron scattering results are consistent with a fluid-like state where degrees of freedom have a more complex magnetization density than that of magnetic dipoles. The nature and strength of the octupole–octupole couplings, together with the existence of a continuum of excitations attributed to spinons, provides further evidence for a quantum ice of octupoles governed by a ‘2-plus-2-minus’ rule(7–8). Our work identifies Ce(2)Sn(2)O(7) as a unique example of frustrated multipoles forming a ‘hidden’ topological order, thus generalizing observations on quantum spin liquids to multipolar phases that can support novel types of emergent fields and excitations.